Chapter 389: My Cup of Tea
Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97
"However, the underground magma belt does not explode every day. According to the specialists, it goes into its medium eruptive state every half month and its super eruptive state every half a year.
"The next super eruptive state is coming in one and a half months from now. Only with the energy released from the big magma explosion can the Heaven's Artillery be full activated to fire five star shuttles to Ultimacy."
Meng Weiyang went into even greater detail.
The federal government was planning to select five out of the top ten Star Teams as the first batch of explorers. They would cruise through the sea of stars in one and a half months' time, travelling a distance of almost ten thousand lightyears for the first time ever in history.
But since Ultimacy was too far away from the Heaven's Origin Sector, the spiritual connection between the star shuttles and their homeland would be quite feeble after they were launched. In no more than 24 hours, the connection would be lost.
Therefore, the five star shuttles setting off on the journey were not recoverable. The thirty Orb Patrollers would have to persist by themselves for one month in Ultimacy.
One month later, with the energy of a medium magma explosion, the Heaven's Artillery could be activated to 50%, which was not enough to launch manned star shuttles but more than capable of sending five empty star shuttles over.
The thirty Orb Patrollers would have to locate the five empty star shuttles within the next day and return to the Heaven's Origin Sector through them.
As for the five eliminated Star Teams, they would be second-tier candidates to explore Ultimacy again half a year later when the magma belt entered the super eruptive state again.
Listening to the briefing from Meng Weiyang, everyone in the cabin put on impatient, aggressive expressions. Orb Patrollers from different Star Teams were eyeing each other with unmistakable hostility.
"Five out of ten. It's going to be a fierce competition."
Ding Lingdang spoke to Li Yao in a low voice, full of eagerness.
Li Yao was not as light-hearted as her.
None of the top ten teams would be easy to cope with. Everybody was fighting for the supreme honor with all they had.
They were currently at the tenth place. It was almost their limit. Any step upward would be extremely difficult.
An Orb Patroller from Team White Fang raised his hand and asked, "Councilor Meng, I would like to ask, what kind of training will we receive in the coming month, and how will the final examination be conducted?"
Meng Weiyang answered emotionlessly, "In order to give you the abilities needed to survive at least one month in Ultimacy against the best elites of the Blood Demon Sector, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators will teach you in person for the coming month.
"However, the capability of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators is often unfathomable. Even their true disciples may not be able to learn much from them in a year, not to mention that you only have one month of time.
"If possible, we would like very much to give you another half year and keep you studying until then.
"But times waits for no one. 'Eye of Blood Demon', the super teleportation array of the Blood Demon Sector, is almost completed. It is estimated that the first teleportation will be performed very soon.
"If we wait until the next year, the demon clan will have stolen all the treasures in Ultimacy by then.
"Therefore, we have to make do with whatever we have.
"To improve your strength as much as possible and as shortly as possible for you to become the strongest Building Foundation Stage Cultivators in the history of the Star Glory Federation, Occult Orbs Fellowship has specially initiated a special training facility from the Star Ocean Imperium.
"This training facility can retrieve the most impressive memory pieces from the brains of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, transform them into oceans of information, and inject them into your brains, while keeping all the telepathic thoughts inside intact.
"As long as you are able to digest and absorb the knowledge, you will be blessed with a short memory fragment of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. You will be able to feel what they felt and experience what they have experienced!
"But I need to remind you that memory fragments of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators are made of extremely fierce mental power which is too dangerous for Building Foundation Stage Cultivators such as yourselves, even with the protection of the training facility.
"It is almost like feeding a three-year-old with roasted beef. The child is very likely to be killed by the tasteful food.
"Of course, the most proficient doctors of the Star Glory Federation have been summoned here. All kinds of strengthening drugs cooked by Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures will be at your disposal. But the odds are still high that you will be seriously damaged by the foreign intrusion. In better-case scenarios, your brain might be injured, and your Cultivation will drop a lot; in worse-case scenarios, your brain cells could be entirely destroyed, and you will fall into a vegetative state!
"So, I'm going to repeat my words. It's still not too late to go back right now. If you are not determined to make it to the end, you'd better not waste the resources of Occult Orbs Fellowship as well as your own life!
"This is both a training session and a match. In one month, the first batch of Star Teams to go on the expedition to Ultimacy will be nominated according to the progress of your memory absorption and your comprehensive capability!"
Meng Weiyang's words immediately raised whispers inside the cabin.
Grasping the combat experience and teachings of a higher-level Cultivator by transmitting memories between brains and reading the memories of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators directly…
This unbelievable method of training was indeed risky, but the potential gains were enormous, too.
Everyone was half worried and half delighted, worried that their brains might be damaged to the point of loss of consciousness, and delighted at Meng Weiyang's declaration about them becoming the strong Building Foundation Stage Cultivators in the history of the Star Glory Federation.
Li Yao was the only exception. His face was so outlandish that he seemed to have stuffed an egg into his mouth. He was not sure about what to feel.
'Training by absorbing memories? Are you serious?
'Just my cup of tea!'
The rest of Team Blue Bronze, on the other hand, were quite grave. Hong Tong frowned and said, "Memory transmission? It seems that the giants of the Heaven's Origin Sector are indeed trying to do their best for the trip to Ultimacy!"
It was not hard to understand that the memories of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, which were their most precious property, might only be available for their blood descendants. Even their true disciples might not have the privilege of enjoying them.
If it were in a different scenario, the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators wouldn't bother to think about it even if someone offered tens of billions for them.
Captain Hong Tong had heard a thing or two about the memory transmission facility from the Star Ocean Imperium before.
It was said that the facility was one of Occult Orbs Fellowship's greatest treasures ever retrieved, and it took ten years to transport the facility from an Occult Orb back to the Heaven's Origin Sector.
Every time it was to be used, it would require a huge amount of precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and an astronomical number of crystals.
It was not an exaggeration to say that, every minute it was functioning, the cost was equivalent to a crystal tank being burnt to the ground.
The Cultivators and the federal government were indeed generous this time.
"It is said that the process of memory transmission through the facility can be so excruciating that even Cultivators find it hard to resist. Many of them withdraw half way through it. Not to mention that the procedure can be quite dangerous anyway.
"Li Yao, the top ten Star Teams are mostly middle-level and high-level Building Foundation Stage Cultivators. Very few of their members are at the beginning level of the Building Foundation Stage. Your Cultivation is the lowest of all.
"Although your battle experience is quite abundant, and you are an excellent Exo, which allows you to stand up to opponents at the middle level or even high level of the Building Foundation Stage, memory transmission depends more on the solidness of your soul and the hardness and broadness of your brain. It is a hardcore battle devoid of any tricks. Don't be too greedy.
"Over the next month, you should try your best to digest and absorb one memory piece of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.
"If you have extra time and vigor, you may consider absorbing a second piece. But don't go any further than that. Otherwise, I'm afraid it will be too much for your brain, and you might lose your mind because of that!"
Hong Tong spoke solemnly.
Li Yao was the most irreplaceable member in the team right now. Many tactics wouldn't work without him. If he went crazy, Team Blue Bronze would lose all hope.
Li Yao's lips moved, as he was planning to defend himself. But on second thought, he realized that cheap talk wouldn't mean anything, and that it would be best if he could try this 'memory transmission facility' first before making any empty promises.
Li Yao smiled and replied sincerely, "I will do what I can, no more and no less, captain. I will eat until my stomach is full and stop there. I won't be greedy."
Three hours later, 61 Orb Patrollers, including Li Yao, arrived at the depths of the facility after thorough physical examinations.
What they saw was a vast training base that could almost be called an underground palace. It had been constructed for the mission to Ultimacy.
Other than fully-equipped training rooms, a few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators had also set up their villas nearby, where they had been living for a long time in preparation for the likely assaults that the demon clan would launch against the Heaven's Artillery.
Li Yao walked into a training room which was decorated in pure white. The door closed quietly behind him, leaving no trace on the wall at all. The room seemed to be an enclosed eggshell right now.
For the next month, he would be training in this place.
In the middle of the training room was a capsule that looked like a giant cocoon. It was filled with bright green liquid with a vague, cheesy aroma.
Taking off his clothes, Li Yao stepped into the capsule in his mustard suit that was as thin as the wings of a cicada. He slowly lowered himself into the strengthening drug. It flowed through his nasal cavity into his body, but his breathing was not blocked at all. If anything, it was more permeable and comfortable than before.
Thousands of silver threads crowded around him from various directions and covered him gently.
Over his head, the silver threads formed complicated patterns.
On Li Yao's retina, almost a hundred pictures appeared weirdly, each with a large introductory paragraph beside it.
There were almost a hundred memory fragments from Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. The trainees were allowed to pick them according to their specialties, interests, and personal strength.
For the memory pieces of daily training, they contained relatively less information, and their shock to the brain would be less.
But for the memory pieces which included fierce combats, the information contained inside could be as rampageous as raging flood. They would cause severe shock to the brain.
Holding his breath, Li Yao glanced over all the pictures and selected the first memory piece shortly after.
It was a memory piece that recorded a dangerous combat that 'Iron God' Yan Ba was engaged in when he'd just broken into the Nascent Soul Stage. The data contained inside was tremendous. It was extremely difficult and risky to absorb!
Something hummed inside Li Yao's brain, while a line of white words popped up on his retina.
"Orb Patroller Li Yao, you are now at the beginning level of the Building Foundation Stage. Absorbing a combat memory piece with vast information streams such as the one you are picking can pose a serious threat to your brain and may even lead to mental derangement. Are you sure you want to take this memory piece?"
"I am!"